NOVEL NEXT Chapter 218
This time, even if it was for a brief moment, O Ah-ra realized something while working with Han Si-woo.
That was that Han Si-woo was an absurdly talented genius.
The concept for Rookies’ Secret Girl is pure and dreamy, while Python’s Poison Heart has a girl-crush concept.
Merging these two songs with such contrasting images was incredibly difficult, but…
♪♪♬♬-!
Han Si-woo arranged it effortlessly.
The two songs combined in his hands created a synergy as if they were originally one piece.
And… in such a perfect melody, Yoo Seol started the introduction.
-You’ve already captured me
-toxic love and poison heart
This part was originally from the introduction of Poison Heart.
The intense feeling distinct to the girl-crush concept might not suit someone with a pure look like Yoo Seol, but she nailed it splendidly, as if she had always been a member of Python.
“Waaahhh—!”
Amid the fervent cheers of the fans, O Ah-ra matched her movements and looked at Yoo Seol with fiery eyes.
To her, Yoo Seol was… the leader and an object of admiration in her previous life.
In her past life, Yoo Seol never gave up on Rookies, even in tough situations.
And when Rookies disbanded, she succeeded in a solo debut amidst difficult circumstances and proved her skill by conquering the entertainment world.
‘O Ah-ra, you just messed up your part. Are you even awake?’
Yoo Seol from her past life was scary, but… O Ah-ra respected her.
The status window spoke of the best idol.
She wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but she thought Yoo Seol truly was the closest to being the best idol.
-Don’t come near me
-This is the distance between you and me
Next was Kanna’s part.
As Kanna put on her characteristic alluring smile, she blended the pure and dreamy concept of Secret Girl into her own color.
Though O Ah-ra didn’t know of her existence in her past life…
In this life, having practiced together from a young age, she knew.
Kanna was an outstanding idol who combined innate talent with hard work.
Whaaa—.
Kanna owned the moment, captivating the audience.
“Waaahhh—!!”
“Kyahhh—!!”
Yoo Seol and Kanna.
As the eyes of the crowd widened at the two magnificent idols’ parts, the cheers reached their peak.
And the next turn was…
Right to O Ah-ra’s part.
“I’ll show you. I will definitely show you.”
O Ah-ra’s natural talent was undeniably much lower than Yoo Seol and Kanna’s.
But the time O Ah-ra invested while chasing her dream of becoming an idol…
Over both past and present lives, it surpassed the two by far.
Plus, O Ah-ra had a special power.
In her previous life, after being hit by a truck and dying, O Ah-ra regretted her life.
She cursed the reality of not being able to remain an idol and her lack of ability…
She lamented, feeling her heart rot as she closed her eyes.
Then, as if to respond…
She was given a new life and the power to reach the summit of idols.
O Ah-ra believed she was special.
But in this world, there were other returners like her, standing on the same stage.
O Ah-ra wanted to show them.
Who was above? Who was the best idol?!
‘Skill usage time slowed.’
Pah!
As she used her skill, the surrounding time flowed slowly.
O Ah-ra focused on her movements, paying attention to every little detail while…
-If you’re still curious
-Follow me
With outstanding vocal ability invested heavily in stats, she brilliantly handled the bridge, which was a challenging part in Secret Girl.
“Wow, waaaahhh—!!”
Even the distant audience could tell something was different.
Feeling the change, fans shouted louder as they watched O Ah-ra.
But…
‘…Something’s lacking.’
O Ah-ra wasn’t satisfied with this.
She felt her hand movements were slightly off.
If it were someone else, they might have just felt disappointed and moved on, but… O Ah-ra was different.
‘Skill usage rewind.’
Pah—.
If it didn’t satisfy her… she could just rewind.
It wasn’t like she could rewind infinitely and there were several restrictions, but…
It was perfectly fine to change anything she didn’t like on stage.
O Ah-ra reversed time and corrected her mistake.
-If you’re still curious
-Follow me
“Waaahhh—!!”
As all those minor mistakes vanished, she became even more perfect.
But…
‘…Something is still off.’
It wasn’t enough yet.
O Ah-ra rewound time once more.
-If you’re still curious
-Follow me…
…One more time.
-If you’re still curious
-Follow me…
She was aware that her part was already perfect.
She also recognized that using the skill now was inefficient.
Still…, a sense of unease prompted O Ah-ra to rewind time once again.
To become even more perfect.
And…
-If you’re still curious
-Follow me
“Waaahhh—!!”
“Kyahhh—!!”
Only then did O Ah-ra stop using her skill.
‘If I use it anymore, I might not be able to use it for the next part…’
Thanks to using the skill several times, her part was exceedingly perfect.
People cheered even louder for her than they had for Yoo Seol and Kanna.
At that moment…, O Ah-ra felt she was shining even more than Yoo Seol and Kanna.
‘All right…’
With a small sense of satisfaction, her part ended….
Next was Ha Ye-rin’s turn.
O Ah-ra could roughly estimate Ha Ye-rin’s stats from practicing together.
Her vocal ability was low while her dance stat was high…, a typical main dancer.
Her dance stat was in the 90s, while her vocal ability stat was at best around 70-80.
Anyhow, based on just stats, O Ah-ra, who surpassed 90s in both dance and vocal stats, was above Ha Ye-rin.
Moreover, no matter how good Ha Ye-rin’s skills were, O Ah-ra’s ability to rewind time made hers quite overpowered.
O Ah-ra was convinced that she would shine the brightest on this stage.
But the next moment…
-toxic love and black snake
-We’re the snake that will swallow you
-The venomous snake that will intoxicate you
Ha Ye-rin’s part began…
‘Hmm…?’
O Ah-ra couldn’t help but gasp.
Something was off compared to practice…
She wasn’t exactly sure what had changed, but it felt like the air was different and the atmosphere had shifted.
Watching intently, O Ah-ra began to feel the change.
-Don’t blame
-The poisoned chalice you chose
Her gestures…, her intense gaze…, her aura…
They overwhelmed and captivated the audience.
…It shone.
The immersion of Ha Ye-rin’s performance, which couldn’t be captured fully on camera…, the live sensation was…
“Waaahhh—!!”
“Ha Ye-rin—!!!!”
“Kyahhh—!!”
“I love you—!!!”
Made her the protagonist.
‘Ah…’
Wasn’t her trait called Sky Demon…?
Having heard the name of the trait, she looked it up online.
An entity that instills powerlessness in the protagonists of manga…, a true natural disaster.
Did she receive skill commensurate with that name?
Before long, Ha Ye-rin became the star of the stage, while O Ah-ra was being relegated to supporting.
‘…That’s unfair. I wish I had such a skill.’
O Ah-ra felt her energy dwindling as Ha Ye-rin’s performance continually shone brighter.
As people gazed only at her, O Ah-ra’s motivation disappeared.
…She felt self-deprecating.
Before getting on stage, she had hyped herself up to Ha Ye-rin…
But now, the one shining was her.
Perhaps it was because of this sense of defeat.
Thud.
‘…Ugh.’
In a moment of distraction, O Ah-ra stumbled.
Before her balance crumbled…
She tried to use her skill.
‘Rewind…’
But before she could…
Pah!
“…!”
Before that, Ha Ye-rin stepped in and took her hand…
“Waaahhh—!!”
“Kyahhh—!!”
She created a perfect symmetry, as if it were a part of the original choreography, lifting her up as the crowd roared.
In that moment, O Ah-ra had the closest view of Ha Ye-rin’s expression.
She was…
SMILE.
She was smiling.
As if she were enjoying something immensely.
“……”
Was she momentarily entranced by Ha Ye-rin’s smile?
O Ah-ra, with her head feeling hazy, forgot to use her skill during her remaining part and continued the movements.
Of course, thanks to the hard work she put into memorizing the choreography, she didn’t make any mistakes.
And when she perfected the final movement and the stage ended…
“Insane—!!!!”
“Rookies—!!!!”
“Python—!!”
“Waaahhh—!!”
“Yoo Seol—!!!!!!”
“Awesome—!!!”
The auditorium resonated with the waves of the crowd’s cheers.
“Hey….”
“What is it?”
As soon as she stepped off the stage, O Ah-ra grabbed Ha Ye-rin and whispered in her ear.
“…What skill did you use back there on stage?”
“Ah…”
What skill had she used to make the atmosphere change 180 degrees compared to practice, causing people to only look at her?
What kind of effect did her skill have?
But…
“I didn’t use a skill during this stage.”
“…What?”
Ha Ye-rin gave an unexpected answer.
Did she just say that was without using a skill?
O Ah-ra stared blankly at her unexpected reply as Ha Ye-rin continued.
“Well, if this stage was a Na Ah Ah final or a competition affecting Rookies’ results, I might have used a skill….”
“……”
“But this is a special stage.”
With Ha Ye-rin’s response, O Ah-ra grit her teeth and asked back.
“…So? Just because it’s a special stage, it means we shouldn’t do our best?”
“No, it’s not that. When I use a skill…, it doesn’t feel fun.”
“…What do you mean it’s not fun…?”
Ha Ye-rin smiled softly and continued.
“When I use a skill, I feel like I’m not myself… I get anxious, and sometimes overly excited…”
“……”
“If I absolutely had to use it… I would have, but… since it’s a special stage, I just wanted to enjoy it with the unnies and the fans.”
At that moment, O Ah-ra recalled what Kanna had said to Ha Ye-rin in the waiting room.
“I’ve been watching Na Ah Ah from episode one! But Yoo Ye-rin is the best. Did you notice how her smiles increased from the first episode to the final episode?”
“Seeing Yoo Ye-rin smile genuinely makes my heart race.”
…That was it.
Ha Ye-rin from Na Ah Ah… And the Ha Ye-rin she had faced directly over the past month were…
A girl who didn’t seem to know how to smile at all.
She had A cold expression that earned her a reputation as the Ice Princess among reporters…
‘But just now….’
From the moment she was on stage until now…, she wore a very joyful, innocent smile on her face.
In contrast, what about herself?
“……”
At that moment, O Ah-ra understood the fundamental difference between herself and Ha Ye-rin, and realized why there had been such a difference on stage earlier.
It felt like… she was awakening to something she had long forgotten.